Everytime You Go
by got2BaBabeFan
Summary: Reposted without lyrics. Stephanie finally admits to Ranger how she feels.


**Reposted after request from to remove the lyrics.**

**Author's Note: **I own nothing – the Stephanie Plum series and characters belong to the talented Janet Evanovich, I'm just playing with them. The song in this story is "Every Time You Go" by 3 Doors Down off their Time of My Life CD – I'm borrowing the lyrics to this as well. The lyrics will be at the end of the story but if you haven't heard the song check it out. When I heard it I thought of Stephanie and Ranger and the story has been itching to come out.

**Every Time You Go**

Stephanie was sitting on her couch thinking about the men in her life when she heard the locks tumble. She didn't look over at the door but felt the tingle at the back of her neck which meant Ranger had walked in. "Hey Ranger" she called out.

Ranger sauntered over to where she was sitting with a blank face firmly in place and sat in her good chair. Stephanie looked over at him and inwardly cringed but noticed he was wearing his normal SWAT gear and as usual he looked good. "Thought you were off men Babe" he said.

"Well, I meant to be but I don't know what happened and well… Joe loves me and wants to marry me. I'll probably marry him eventually so I don't know what the problem is" she replied and then to herself she said 'it's not like you'll ever marry me.'

"So has he asked again?"

"Not yet but it's only a matter of time. His mother will start on him again to get married to anyone but me and then his crazy Grandmother will jump in. They both hate me and then he'll ask because he wants to tell them that he's engaged and he knows it'll make them crazy that he's engaged to me. My mother has never stopped harping at me since my divorce and Joe is a nice Burg boy so that's all she cares about. According to her she's embarrassed by me all the time and has no problem reminding me of it. She's trying to wear me down and some days she's closer than others. Why do you ask?"

Ranger still had his blank face firmly in place "Morelli told me to back off, that his wife didn't need to be hanging around a bunch of thugs." Ranger carefully watched Stephanie's face as he spoke and wasn't surprised to see the pissed off look that appeared.

"That rat bastard had no right to say anything to you. I've always made it clear that you and the guys are my friends and that will not change; asking me to stay away from my friends has always been a deal breaker" she fumed.

Ranger stood and tonelessly said "I appreciate your loyalty Babe but you have to do what's best for you. If you want to marry him then we'll understand." He again watched the emotions play across her face and was amazed by the hurt he saw settle on her face before she buried her face in her hands.

She suddenly looked up and she gave him a small smile when they heard a key scrape the lock. The smile on her face changed to an angry look and Ranger decided to get the hell out of there, he didn't want to witness the argument or her eventual giving in which would lead to make up sex. "Later Babe" and he walked toward the door.

Morelli saw Ranger walk toward him and scowled at him and turned a smile toward his current bed buddy. "Cupcake, we need to talk about you allowing that thug around all the time."

"What's wrong with you Morelli? Ranger said you told him to back off, you had no right. He's my friend, my best friend, who always helps me and encourages me when I need it" she quietly said. She didn't want to start screaming because it would only make it worse.

Joe got a pissed off look on his face and firmly said "If you want to marry me then you need to get rid of him and quit your job. If you can do that for six months then I'll buy you a ring."

"So what you mean is I change my life and then I can be honored with a proposal of marriage. I get to give up my friends so you can run my life? What about you, what do you change?" I loudly said with hands on hips.

"I'm not the one who needs to change Stephanie; I can't handle you being friends with Ranger or your job. You said he's your best friend, what about me. If you want to marry me then shouldn't I be your best friend?"

"Yeah Joe you should. The thing is I don't want to marry you, I want to marry Ranger." She didn't mean to say that last part out loud but it had the same effect as dumping a bucket of ice water over the head of the man currently standing in her apartment.

Joe sputtered and then yelled "Are… are you… crazy? You want to marry that thug? He's a mercenary for crying out loud. One of these days he's going to get you killed or he'll go off on one of his missions and not come back. Who's gonna want you then? You'll wind up alone, with no kids and no money."

She looked up into his eyes and realized she was never in love with Joe. Their relationship was based on a common background, a love of hockey, Pino's pizza and great sex. They were bed buddies but she knew if they married they'd end up hating each other. She didn't want to marry him or have his children; if she was honest she only wanted that with Ranger and it wouldn't ever change. "I guess I said that out loud?" she asked and he nodded his head. "I'm sorry but I meant it, I just never realized that was how I really felt."

Joe gave her a defeated look and replied "Sure Steph, but don't come crying to me when he breaks your heart. I guess deep down I knew it wouldn't work between us, we break up all the time." Then he strolled out of her apartment shaking his head and muttering something about being crazy and mercenaries.

Stephanie walked over to her stereo and turned on the radio. She called in an order to the Chinese restaurant around the corner and waited for delivery. She was so engrossed in thoughts of the conversation with Morelli she lost track of time and jumped when she heard a knock of her door. She ate her egg roll, fried rice, sweet and sour chicken and beef lo mein while sitting on the couch and thinking about her situation. She had made a decision. Ranger once said she had too many men in her life and now she didn't have one of them. How could she let Ranger know how she felt and that she had made a choice?

She was surprised when she heard the new 3 Doors Down song on the radio. She listened to the song and the words were perfect; they described exactly how she felt. This was it, she'd tell him with this song. She went to her computer and downloaded the song from I-tunes and burned it to a disk before she could she could chicken out. She slid the disk into a sandwich bag and put it in her bag. She was determined to give it to Ranger the next time she saw him. The song said everything she wanted to stay but was too afraid to.

It had been a week since that night in her apartment and she had not seen Ranger since. She knew that he was around because Connie mentioned he'd been in the bonds office. Today she was standing at Connie's desk when she felt that familiar tingle at the back of her neck. If that didn't tell her Ranger walked in then the fact that Connie and Lula were staring with their mouths open slightly would have. He walked up behind her and placed a hand at the back of her neck and his lips brushed her neck as he whispered in her ear "Need to talk to you outside Babe." They walked out of the office together and he pulled her into the alley. He pushed her against the wall and pressed his body against hers and began to kiss her neck "Babe, I've got to go out of town."

She moaned and was barely able to ask "When and where?"

He continued to nibble at her ear and neck and said "On my way to the airport, can't say where and I'll be gone 3-6 months." His mouth moved to hers and the kiss started out gentle but quickly escalated into so much more. Her body felt like it was on fire and she was moaning as his tongue probed her mouth and she felt his hard length against her stomach. They finally pulled away from each other due to the need for oxygen. She was dazed from the kiss and it took them both a few minutes to recover.

She thought to herself 'at least he's as affected by this as I am'

"Yeah Babe I am"

"Out loud again?" He nodded yes.

Stephanie reached into her purse which had fallen off her shoulder and pulled out the CD she made. "I want you to listen to this song."

He looked confused and asked "Why?"

"You told me once I had too many men in my life and well, now I have one less. The song says everything I want to say to you. Please just listen to it when you can" she quietly asked while looking at her feet.

Ranger lifted her chin so he could look into her eyes and he saw unshed tears and brushed a soft kiss on her lips and replied "If it means that much to you I will." They heard a horn beep and he said "I have to go, that's Tank. Don't go crazy Babe."

"Don't get shot" she called after his retreating form. He turned and gave her his 200 watt smile.

Ranger climbed into the Hummer that Tank was driving. "Are you ok Rangeman" Tank asked.

"Fine" he said as he put the CD into the player and he heard the opening of the song.

"Where did you get this? It's not what you usually listen to?" Tank asked.

Ranger didn't answer his second-in-command but he did replay the song to make sure he understood what Stephanie was trying to tell him. He thought about the words of the song and felt a glimmer of hope. He began making plans and pulled out his cell phone and quickly dialed "General Hooperman this is Captain Manoso, an emergency has come up and I won't be able to work on the mission but Sgt. Sherman will still be arriving as scheduled."

Tank looked shocked at this sudden turn of events. "Are you gonna tell me what's going on now?"

"Steph asked me to listen to that song because it said everything she wanted to say to me. If she's given up on the cop then how can I leave now? I'm no longer under contract and you can lead this mission as well as I can."

Tank smiled and said "About damn time you two got together. I'll take over the mission but I'll miss you man." They rode in silence the rest of the way to the airport. Tank got out at the curb and pulled out his duffel but before entering the terminal he smiled and said "Don't get married before I get back, I want to be your best man this time."

Ranger gave an almost smile and said "I won't let you miss my wedding so you better come back in one piece." After Tank entered the terminal, Ranger drove to his parents' home in Newark and told them he planned to marry Stephanie. They were excited and his Abuela Rosa brought out the 2 carat emerald cut diamond engagement ring given to her 60 years ago. When his grandparents came from Cuba they had lost all their money and no matter how poor they were they refused to sell the engagement ring and wedding bands. He thanked his grandmother and as he reached Trenton he called the control room "Give me a bead on Stephanie."

Hal stuttered and said "H… her apartment, thought you were… in the wind."

Ranger hung up and turned the Hummer toward her apartment. He parked by the dumpster and quickly made his way to her door. He stopped and took a deep breath and knocked. She opened the door and looked stunned for a moment before saying "I thought you were in the wind."

He stepped into her apartment and grabbed her wrist as she turned to walk further into the apartment and pulled her into his arms and kissed her with a tenderness that she had never experienced. He broke the kiss and led her to the living room where he sat on her couch and pulled her onto his lap. He held her close as she rested her head on his shoulder while he explained that he listened to the song like she asked and that because he could refuse missions and was no longer under contract he came back to Trenton. "Babe I love you more than I ever thought possible. I realized how much I need you in my life and I'm not taking chances anymore. Babe will you marry me?"

She looked shocked and the tears began to fall as she said "I love you so much, I realized last week that I only wanted to marry you not Joe or anyone else. Yes, I'll marry you."

He pulled out a ring from his pocket and slid it on her finger "This belonged to my Abuela Rosa she gave it to me earlier today when I told her I wanted to marry you. She said if I was going to marry for love then my wife should have the family ring. I want you to call me Carlos from now on."

"Thank you Carlos. It means more than words can say that you put this special ring on my finger."

She slid off his lap and he stood and picked her up and carried her into the bedroom where he planned to keep her for a lifetime.


End file.
